Throwing Stones // Random Thoughts
by Josh Levine
The BlackBerry post made me think about why brands make these kinds of mistakes. Smart marketing leverages the laws of nature, while poor marketing often violates them. In this case, RIM has violated two: The Importance of Soil and The Ripple Effect
The Importance of Soil: If you plant the world’s finest seeds in infertile soil, nothing will grow. To consistently and predictably improve the harvest, you must consistently care for the soil. Your brand is the terroir, the environment in which your product will either thrive or die on the vine.
The Ripple Effect: If you want to make waves, you keep dropping stones in the lake. To make a bigger wave, you drop a bigger stone. If you drop a big enough stone in the lake, the waves will eventually lap up onto the shore. If the lake is our core audience, then the shore represents the greater opportunity to grow beyond. Too many brands jump out of the lake in favor dropping stones all over the shore, which does nothing but create a mess.
Blackberry // Don’t Believe the Hype
by Josh Levine
BlackBerry is blowing it. The long-standing mobile email champ took the early lead by focusing on product, making devices that worked and appealing to consumers' ...
The 4 C’s of Being Grassroots // Random Thoughts
by Josh Levine
A client told me recently that because the brand has hit tough times, they’re “going back to basics,” which is code for spending a greater ...
Demographics // Don’t Believe the Hype
by Josh Levine
In a blog called Influential Marketing, Rohit Bhargava makes a great observation about demographics: They suck. Actually, that's not exactly what he says. What he ...
Gen Art Fresh Faces of Fashion // On the Run
by Josh Levine
Last week I went to Gen Art's Fresh Faces of Fashion at the Peterson Automotive Museum. Love that place. You definitely feel like you’re somewhere ...
Kanye West Listening Party // On the Run
by Josh Levine
When Kanye throws a listening party, he expects you to listen... to him. Last night's invite-only warehouse party on La Brea Ave. did not feature ...
Dispatch Magazine // Down With Us
by Josh Levine
Today we kicked off a 12-school event series promoting the new EA Sports title NBA Live 09, in cooperation with our friends at Dispatch ...
Delta Airlines // Don’t Believe the Hype
by Josh Levine
I fly American. Not because I love the airline - I don’t. But a few years back I found myself with about 100,000 miles on ...
Major League Gaming // Down With Us
by Josh Levine
Did you know there are professional gamers? Not poker players, XBox players. If you still think of gaming consoles as toys, you’re missing the boat. ...
Dr. Dre and Monster Headphones // Hate It or Love It
by Josh Levine
If you don’t know, Dr. Dre recently introduced a line of headphones with Monster called Beats by Dr. Dre. If you don’t know, Dr. ...
